The Marquise de Sade

by First Last, Liz Heron

In her first novel, Monsieur Venus, Rachilde created Raoule de Venerande, a Decadent heroine as depraved as she is resourceful and ingenious. The Marquise de Sade, published three years later, in 1887, has a female protagonist to rival Raoule in her relish for destruction and her passion for outrage. Like Rachilde herself, Mary Barbe is a cavalry officer's daughter. Barely in her teens, she is orphaned and taken to live with her elderly uncle, a man of science. As a girl in a family where only the male sex is prized, she is relegated to a life of dull seclusion in her attic room. But with the approach of womanhood, beauty, learning and an inordinate streak of ruthlessness give her the means to carve out a place in the world, and exact the cruel dues of a femme fatale.
The novel gives us a rare glimpse of female sexuality, explored not only from a decadent, but even more tellingly, from a woman's perspective.

Genres: Fiction, French Literature, France, 19th Century, Classics, Literature

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1887

Reviews

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it concludes with the usual catalog of depravities and decor that you'd expect from a Decadent novel, this novel has a lot more going on in terms of character, plot and language than its sensationalistic title suggests: it's a surprisingly absorbing feminist Bildungsroman, ornamented with stylish turns of phrase and surprising insights, and always run through with the twin streams of sadism and hysteria that make for a delightfully confused heroine.

[Kezia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a page turner from the sole notable woman in the decadent clique. The first half covers the childhood of our anti-heroine to show how her vicious streak developed, and I could have managed with less of that. I didn't find her so extremely cruel as the title suggests. Flattery and coquetry that leads to a man desiring her, and then rejecting him - that seems tame by Sadean standards. Shaming her seducer and lording it over him for the rest of his life - ditto. But there are highlights that make up for these weak spots.

A very good introduction too.

[rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu décevant, surtout sur la fin... Autant la première partie (l'enfance militaire de Mary) est travaillée à fond, avec beaucoup d'humour et d'empathie, autant la deuxième partie (son adolescence et sa vie de femme à Paris) est superficielle, prévisible, voire un peu bâclée. Dommage, parce qu'il y a des tableaux très réussis dans les deux !

[Olicorta · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Deux tiers de hors sujet enfance provinciale / un tiers de ts les motifs de l’Animale et Monsieur vénus recyclés en moins bien ;;; outrageusement déçue par le marketing bataillien du sang/bœuf absolument pas réinvestis
À part les métaphores surexcitées et les 5 dernières pages, Rachilde my disgusting darling tu n’as pas frappé très fort cette fois

[Francesca Penchant · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mary Barbe embodies Juliette’s ruthless answer to the innocent, wronged Justine.”
—Liz Heron
Introduction to The Marquise de Sade

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je m'en suis délectée

[nunu sociale · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5. le debut etait sympathique, et je me suis dit que ça me réconcilierait avec la littérature classique, chose qui m'ennuie depuis mes etudes de lettres & littérature. malheureusement, l'histoire s'est vite révélée ennuyeuse, et j'ai été décu.

[Desiree]

I can't say I liked it but I also can't say that it was an aweful book to read. I guess, it was the most disgusting thing I've ever read. Not the way the author wrote, but the story itself. I just hope only half of it really happened...